UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Nprth  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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OUR  JENNY./^7?^ 


A  STORY  FOB  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 


BY  ALICE  HAWTHORNE. 


ILLUSTRATE©. 

NEW    YORK: 

PUBLISHED     BY    JAMES     MILLER, 
522  BROADWAY. 


Entered,  According  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854, 

BY  CHARLES  H.  DAVIS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


OUR  JENNY. 

Do  you  know  our  Jenny?  Oh!  you 
should  know  her, — she  is  such  a  nice  girl ! 
She  lives  in  the  country  near  us,  and  she 
is  my  own  cousin.  I  love  her  so  much 
that  I  want  all  my  friends  to  know  her 
and  love  her  too.  So  I  will  tell  you  some- 
thing about  her.  You  will  find  that  she 
is  both  pretty  and  good ;  and  what  proves 
that  she  is  good,  is  that  she  is  a. great 
favorite  at  home,  in  her  father's  own 
house,  where  they  know  most  about  her. 

(5) 


JENNY'S  PICTURE. 

Here  is  our  Jenny's  picture.  Is  it  not 
pretty.  Uncle  George  had  it  painted 
when  he  came  home  from  California,  and 
he  gave  it  to  Jenny's  mother.  It  was 
Uncle  George's  fancy  to  have  it  painted 
just  as  she  looked  one  morning  when  she 
put  on  her  gipsy  hat,  and  took  her  little 
basket  in  her  hand,  to  go  out  into  the 
garden  and  gather  some  strawberries  for 
Uncle  George  to  have  with  his  breakfast, 
with  nice,  fresh  cream  and  sugar.  Is  it 
not  a  pretty  picture  ?     Is  not  my  cousin 


JENNY  S  PICTURE. 


jenny's  picture. 


9 


Jenny  pretty  ?  We  all  think  her  a  very 
good  and  excellent  girl  as  well  as  a  pretty 
one ;  and. Uncle  George,  I  do  believe,  loves 
her  just  as  much  as  if  she  were  his  own 
daughter. 


JENNY'S  HOME. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  Uncle  Arthur's 
house.  That  is  Jenny's  home.  It  is  a 
very  nice  house.  It  has  a  great  many 
rooms  in  it  and  a  nice  shaded  stoup,  and 
plenty  of  trees  round  it  with  their  pleasant 
shade.  Back  of  the  house  is  the  garden 
full  of  flowers  and  all  sorts  of  vegetables, 
and  many  other  things  that  I  am  going 
to  tell  you  about  by  and  by.  All  round 
the  house  lies  the  farm,  so  large,  with  its 
fields,  and  hills,  and  vales ;  and  the  thick 
woods  and  the  brawling  brook. — It  is  a 
(10) 


JENNY  S  HOME. 


13 


grand  farm.  Jenny's  father  employs  a 
great  many  men  on  the  farm.  They 
plough,  and  harrow,  and  sow  wheat,  and 
plant  Indian  corn,  and  take  care  of  the 
horses  and  cattle,  and  oxen,  and  gather 
the  apples.  One  little  boy  drops  the  corn 
in  the  hills,  and  hoes  the  weeds  out,  and 
drives  the  cows  home  from  the  pasture. 


JENNY'S  BROTHER,  WILLIE. 

Jenny  has  a  little  brother,  Willie.  Here 
is  his  picture.  Is  not  he  a  nice  little 
fellow.  He  is  only  five  years  old ;  and 
he  hardly  knows  his  letters  yet.  This  is 
because  his  mother  does  not  wish  him  to 
learn  to  read  at  all  till  he  is  a  good,  strong, 
hearty,  big  boy ;  and  then  she  says  she 
can  teach  him  herself  in  a  few  days.  But 
Willie  is  very  fond  of  picture  books ;  and 
he  has  learned  the  names  of  hundreds  of 
animals,  and  birds,  and  insects,  and  can 
tell  you  in  a  moment  the  name  of  any 
(14) 


JENNY'S  BROTHER,  WILLIE. 


15 


JENNYS  BROTHER  WILLIE. 


17 


animal  or  bird  that  he  sees.  He  is  very 
fond  of  exercise  and  trundles  his  hoop 
pretty  well.  Above  all  he  is  good  tem- 
pered and  amiable,  and  every  body  loves 
him. 


JENNY'S  SISTEE,  SALLY. 

Jenny's  sister  Sally  is  seven  years  old 
She  knows  how  to  read  and  how  to  dance 
too.  See,  here  is  her  picture.  She  is  in 
a  dancing  position.  She  loves  dancing 
very  much ;  for  she  is  a  merry  little  girl. 
And  she  is  as  tender-hearted  as  she  is 
merry.  Once  when  Willie  was  sick  she 
sat  by  his  bedside  and  read  little  story 
books  to  him  all  day  long ;  and  she  begged 
her  mother  to  let  her  wait  upon  Willie  all 
by  herself.  But  that  could  not  be,  you 
know,  because  Willie's  mother  could  not 
(18) 


jenny's  sister  sally. 


JENNY  S  SISTER  SALLY. 


21 


bear  to  let  any  one  but  herself  wait  upon 
her  poor,  dear  little  sick  boy.  However, 
he  was  not  sick  many  days,  and  when  he 
got  well,  we  were  all  so  glad,  and  my 
brother  Harry  played  "peep  oh!"  with 
him  by  the  hour.  But  that  was  a  long 
time  ago,  when  Willie  was  very  little. 


JENNY'S  RABBITS. 

Farmer  Jones  kept  a  great  many  tame 
rabbits  which  he  raised  lor  the  purpose 
of  selling.  Uncle  George  bought  some 
out  of  the  inclosure  of  Farmer  Jones, 
where  they  ran  wild  as  you  see  them  in 
the  picture.  And  who  do  you  think  was 
the  person  for  whom  Uncle  George  bought 
these  pretty  rabbits. 

You  say  "Willie,"  of  course. 

Guess  again. 

"  Sally,"  say  you. 

Not  at  all.  They  were  for  Jenny,  who, 
(22) 


fc^-^ 


jenny's  rabbits. 


JENNY  S  RABBITS, 


25 


I  do  think,  is  Uncle  George's  pet.  But 
it  makes  no  difference.  It  is  all  the  same 
as  if  Uncle  George  had  given  them  to  the 
little  ones.  Jenny  has  put  them  in  a 
cage,  where  she  often  takes  Sally  to  see 
them.  And  little  Willie  gives  them  cab- 
bage leaves  to  eat  very  often, 


JENNY'S  MOTHER. 

Jenny's  mother  is  very  fond  of  her  and 
pays  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  her  edu- 
cation. She  says  that  she  is  desirous  that 
Jenny  should  learn  to  be  useful.  She 
has  taught  her  a  great  many  useful  ways 
of  employing  her  time.  Jenny  can  sew 
beautifully.  She  can  embroider,  work 
lace,  do  rug  work,  and  crochet,  and  a 
great  many  other  kinds  of  work.  Jenny 
studies  her  school  lessons  very  hard,  and 
is  at  the  head  of  her  class.  She  knows 
how  to  write  a  beautiful  hand  and  can 
(26) 


jenny's  mothek. 


JENNY' S  MOTHER. 


29 


draw  very  well.  She  draws  flowers  and 
landscapes  and  colors  them  very  nicely. 
Jenny  has  a  little  garden  of  her  own; 
and  her  mother  encourages  her  to  culti- 
vate it  herself.  She  rises  very  early  in 
the  morning  and  often  spends  the  whole 
time  till  her  breakfast  is  ready  in  weeding 
her  garden  and  watering  the  flowers. 


SHEEP  SHEARING. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  summer  there 
is  a  grand  sheep  shearing  at  the  farm  of 
Jenny's  father.  A  great  number  of  sheep 
are  raised  on  the  farm.  Some  of  these 
cost  my  uncle  a  great  deal  of  money.  He 
imported  sheep  some  years  ago  from 
Saxony  and  Spain ;  and  paid  a  great  deal 
of  money  for  them ;  and  now  his  flocks 
produce  the  finest  wool  that  is  to  be  had 
in  the  whole  country.  Before  the  sheep 
are  sheared,  you  know,  they  have  to  be 
taken  to  the  brook  and  washed.  This  is 
(30) 


SHEEP  SHEARING. 


SHEEP  SHEARING. 


33 


a  very  funny  scene ;  and  all  the  children 
go  to  see  the  sheep  caught  and  dragged 
to  the  brook  and  washed  by  those  strong 
sturdy  farm  workmen. 

Then  comes  the  shearing;  and  this 
is  a  pleasant  sight  for  the  children  who 
ask  a  hundred  questions  of  the  men ;  and 
learn  how  wool  is  made  into  broad  cloth, 
and  merino,  and  mouseline  de  laine. 


THE  HOP  GAEDEN". 

On  the  farm  is  a  large  hop  garden, 
where  a  great  many  hops  are  raised.  It 
is  a  very  beautiful  sight  when  the  hops 
are  growing,  and  the  children  often  go 
there  in  the  summer  time  to  enjoy  them- 
selves rambling  about  and  playing  in  the 
shade  of  the  hop  vines.  When  the  hops 
are  ready  to  be  gathered,  all  the  workmen 
turn  out  together  to  pick  them  and  put 
them  in  baskets  to  be  taken  to  the  great 
barn ;  and  this  is  such  light,  pretty  work, 
that  the  dairy  maid  and  the  workmen's 
(34)    '    . 


PICKING  HOPS. 


THE  HOP  GARDEN. 


37 


wives  and  daughters  help  the  men ;  and 
so  the  work  is  done  very  quickly.  Even 
the  children,  Jenny  and  the  rest,  often 
beg  to  be  permitted  to  take  a  part  ^n  the 
grand  frolic  at  hop-picking  time. 


THE  ORCHARD. 

The  orchard  at  my  uncle's  farm  was  a 
very  fine  one.  It  contained  an  immense 
number  of  apple  trees ;  and  it  was  laid 
out  so  tastefully  as  to  be  admired  by  all 
the  visiters  at  the  farm.  In  the  spring 
it  was  very  delightful  to  walk  in  the  or- 
chard, when  the  trees  were  in  full  blos- 
som ;  and  the  birds  were  building  their 
nests  in  the  branches  and  singing  their 
sweetest  songs.  But  the  most  delightful 
of  all  entertainments  for  the  children  was 
that  of  gathering  the  fruit  when  it  was 
(38) 


THE  CHILDREN  IN  THE  ORCHARD. 


THE  ORCHARD. 


41 


ripe.  Then  they  perfectly  revelled  in  de- 
light. To  shake  the  branches  and  send 
clown  showers  of  rosy  cheeked  apples,  and 
golden  colored  pears,  and  see  them  rolling 
in  rich  profusion  over  the  grass,  was  in- 
deed a  beautiful  sight ;  and  one  well  cal- 
culated tb  inspire  a  sense  of  thankfulness 
to  the  bountiful  Giver  of  all  good. 


THE  LITTLE  GARDEN. 

Willie  and  Sally  had  a  little  garden  of 
their  own,  as  well  as  Jenny ;  and  it  was 
a  very  pretty  sight  to  see  these  beautiful 
children  working  away  industriously  on 
their  plots  of  ground,  digging  and  raking, 
sowing  and  planting  in  the  spring,' 
watering  the  thirsty  flowers  in  the  heat 
of  summer,  and  gathering  bouquets  of 
roses  to  give  to  their  mother  and  other 
friends.  Very  proud  were  the  little  folks 
of  their  success  in  gardening.  And  well 
they  might  be ;  for  it  proved  a  good  de- 
(42) 


WILLIE  AND  SALLY  IN  THE  GARDEN.       43 


THE  LITTLE  GARDEN. 


45 


gree  of  steadiness  and  attention  in  such 
very  young  gardeners  to  have  any  success 
at  all.  It  is  true  they  were  often  obliged 
to  consult  the  gardener ;  and  often  made 
little  mistakes ;  but  they  succeeded  be- 
cause their  heart  was  in  the  work  and 
there  was  no  such  word  as  faih 


JENNY'S  DOE  AND  FAWN. 

Jenny  had  a  beautiful  doe  and  fawn 
sent  her  by  a  friend  in  Virginia ;  and  her 
father  had  a  little  paddock  fenced  in  from 
a  pasture  near  the  house  for  these  elegant 
animals  to  feed  and  sport  in.  They  were 
quite  tame  and  wrould  come  at  Jenny's 
call  and  eat  the  swreet  fresh  grass  from 
her  hands,  and  suffer  her  to  deck  them 
with  garlands  of  flowers.  Willie  and 
Sally  were  very  fond  of  them  and  delighted 
to  chase  them  round  the  paddock  and 
play  with  them.  In  the  winter  time  they 
(46) 


*'v# 


, 


^  \h 


jenny's  doe  anp  fawn.  4f 

were  kept  in  a  little  apartment  made  on 
purpose  for  them  in  the  great  barn ;  and 
there  they  were  often  visited  and  fed  by 
the  children.  Their  delight  wiien  let  out 
in  the  spring  w^as  expressed  by  bounding 
off  and  running  several  times  round  the 
paddock  at  full  speed,  as  you  see  them  in 
the  picture. 


JENNY'S  GARDEN. 

Jenny's  garden  was  larger  than  that 
of  Willie  and  Sally.  It  covered  a  large 
piece  of  ground  and  she  had  a  good  deal 
of  help  from  the  gardener  in  taking 
care  of  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  ground 
was  a  little  pond,  which  was  ornamented 
with  rockwork  and  had  a  small  but  very 
pretty  fountain  throwing  jets  of  water 
from  the  midst  of  a  fine  wild  looking  pile 
of  rocks  in  the  middle  of  the  pond  on  the 
top  of  a  hill  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  house.  From  the  same  source  a 
(50) 


THE  FOUNTAIN. 


/ 


/ 


JENNY  S  GARDEN 


53 


larger  fountain  in  the  lawn  in  front  of  the 
house  was  also  fed.  Jenny  had  also  her 
department  in  the  large  green  house, 
where  she  raised  a  great  number  of  exotic 
plants,  which  in  winter  were  often  brought 
into  the  parlor  or  conservatory. 


JENNY'S  AUNT  DEBORAH. 

Have  you  an  Aunt  Deborah  ?  I  am 
afraid  not.  Few  people  are  so  lucky.  Our 
Aunt  Deborah,  Jenny's  and  mine,  whom 
we  call  Aunt  Debby,  "  for  shortness/'  is 
the  kindest,  best  aunty  in  the  world.  She 
is  Jenny's  mother's  sister  and  lives  always 
at  my  uncle's  farm.  She  loves  all  the 
children  just  the  same  as  if  they  were  her 
own.  She  plays  with  them,  helps  them 
with  their  lessons,  tells  them  the  prettiest 
stories  that  ever  were  heard,  shows  the 
girls  how  to  do  all  kinds  of  ornamental 

m) 


AUNT  DEBOJIAII. 


JENNY'S  AUNT  DEBORAH. 


57 


work,  tends  them  when  they  are  sick, 
gives  them  ever  so  many  presents  at 
Christmas,  and  helps  to  adorn  the  Christ- 
mas trees.  Aunt  Debby  is  as  fond  of 
flowers  as  Jenny  herself ;  and  helps  her 
attend  to  the  garden  and  green  house.  I 
think  she  is  the  most  wonderful  aunty 
that  ever  was. 


JENNY'S  FLOWEES. 

In  the  green  house,  Jenny,  as  we  have 
already  observed,  cultivated  a  number  of 
fine  exotic  plants.  One  of  these  was  a 
large  and  very  beautiful  pansy,  which  she 
had  received  as  a  present  from  a  friend. 
She  took  the  greatest  possible  care  of  it ; 
and  frequently  kept  it  for  a  long  time  in 
her  own  chamber.  But  beautiful  as  this 
pansy  was,  it  did  not  please  Jenny's  fine 
taste  so  well  as  the  little  common  Johnny- 
jump-up,  or  heart's  ease,  of  which  she  had 
a  great  abundance  in  her  garden.  Indeed 
(58) 


A  PANSY. 


JENNY'S  FLOWERS. 


61 


I  think,  myself,  that  the  common  heart's 
ease  is  really  one  of  the  prettiest  flowers 
in  the  world ;  but  we  forget  to  admire  it 
because  it  is  so  common. 


JENNY'S  FLOWEKS. 

Among  Jenny's  flowers  were  some  very- 
curious  ones.  The  sensitive  plant  was  re- 
markable, because  it  was  so  sensitive  that 
if  you  touched  the  leaf  it  drew  itself  away 
from  the  touch  as  if  it  had  been  a  live 
animal  and  not  a  plant.  Then  there  was 
another  kind  of  sensitive  plant  which  they 
call  Venus' s  Fly-trap,  because  having  the 
same  sensitive  quality  as  the  other,  it 
would  contract  its  leaf  when  a  fly  lighted 
on  it  and  so  imprison  the  fly.  In  the 
picture  of  Venus's  Fly-trap,  here,  you  see 
(62) 


VENUS  S  FLY  TRAP. 


JENNY'S  FLOWERS. 


05 


a  fly  caught  by  one  of  the  leaves.  Below 
is  one  of  Jrnny's  Auriculas,  which  is  a 
very  pretty  flower. 


WILLIE'S  PICTURE  BOOKS. 

Willie  as  I  have  already  told  you,  al- 
though he  was  a  little  fellow  and  did  not 
know  how  to  read,  was  very  fond  of  pic- 
tures and  picture  books.  This  taste  his 
mother  encouraged,  and  bought  him  all 
the  pretty  picture  books  she  could  find, 
and  then  explained  to  him  the  meaning 
of  the  pictures.  He  was  especially  fond 
of  those  which  contained  pictures  of  ani- 
mals and  birds,  and  as  he  was  a  child  of 
very  quick  perceptions  and  good  memory 
he  soon  learned  to  distinguish  the  animals 
(66) 


willie's  picture  book. 


WILLIE'S  PICTURE  BOOKS. 


69 


from  each  other  and  he  remembered  very 
well  all  that  his  mother  had  told  him  of 
the  habits  of  the  animals  and  could  tell 
very  readily  w7here  they  were  to  be  found 
and  what  means  were  used  for  capturing 
them.  He  had  a  little  friend  Eobert 
Short  who  used  to  come  and  spend  the 
day  with  him  looking  at  his  pictures. 


SALLY'S  VISITOES. 

Sally  had  her  visitors  as  well  as  Willie. 
Two  little  girls  about  her  own  age  were 
her  especial  favorites.  She  also  had  her 
little  library  of  books ;  and  when  the  little 
girls  had  rambled  over  the  garden  and 
gathered  flowers  and  made  bouquets  and 
wreaths,  and  had  a  spell  of  swinging  in 
the  large  swing  suspended  to  the  elm  tree 
they  used  to  go  up  into  Sally's  little 
chamber  and  have  a  nice  time  looking 
over  her  handsome  books.  It  is  a  great 
thing  for  children  to  have  kind  and  indul- 
(70) 


sally's  visitors. 


SALLY' S  VISITORS. 


73 


gent  parents  who  furnish  them  with  good 
and  useful  books,  which  serve  to  expand 
their  minds  and  teach  them  how  to  per- 
form the  duties  of  life.  Children  should 
be  deeply  thankful  to  a  kind  Providence 
for  the  blessing  of  good  and  judicious  pa- 
rents and  the  means  of  a  moral  and  reli- 
gious education. 


THE  SQUIRREL  HUNTERS. 

One  day  two  boys  came  to  the  farm  to 
sell  some  wild  rabbits  which  they  had 
caught  in  the  woods.  Little  Willie  saw 
them  talking  with  the  cook  in  the  kitchen 
and  was  greatly  delighted  to  have  an  op- 
portunity of  examining  real  rabbits  like 
he  had  seen  pictured  in  the  books.  He 
asked  the  boys  how  they  had  been  caught ; 
and  was  told  that  it  had  been  by  means 
of  a  snare  set  in  the  bushes  which  caught 
and  strangled  the  rabbits ;  and  wThen  the 
boys  had  obtained  a  number  in  this  way 
(74) 


THE  SQUIRREL  HUNTERS. 


77 


they  sold  them  in  the  village  to  people 
to  make  rabbit  pie  of.  They  told  Willie 
that  they  sometimes  caught  squirrels  alive 
in  a  box-trap ;  and  finally  undertook  to 
catch  one  for  him. 


WILLIE'S  SQUIKKEL. 

The  very  next  day,  sure  enough,  the 
boys  came  again  to  the  farm,  bringing  a 
fine  black  squirrel,  which  Jenny  bought 
of  them  for  a  few  pennies,  and  presented 
to  Willie.  He  was  put  in  a  box  for  the 
night ;  and  the  next  morning  a  fine  rolling 
cage  was  obtained  at  the  neighboring 
village,  and  master  squirrel  began  his 
gambols  in  it  to  Willie's  great  delight. 
A  very  busy  little  man  was  Master  Willie 
now.  Such  a  fuss  as  he  made  about  his 
squirrel,  set  all  the  folks  a  laughing. 
(78) 


^fikm> 


willie's  squirrel.  81 

Water  must  be  had  for  him  to  drink  in  a 
little  tin  pan ;  and  Indian  corn  for  him 
to  eat;  and  then  Willie  was  in  such  a 
taking  lest  he  should  not  have  enough  to 
eat  and  drink ;  and  lest  his  bed  of  hay 
should  not  be  comfortable.  When  all 
these  household  cares  of  the  squirrel  were 
attended  to  he  would  sit  by  the  hour 
watching  his  gambols  in  the  rolling  cage. 


6 


THE  GRAND  AFFAIR  OF  THE  RAT. 

All  the  world  knew  that  there  were 
rats  in  the  barn ;  and  sometimes  the 
hired  men  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in 
catching  and  killing  them;  but  a  rat  in 
the  house  was  a  thing  unheard  of  in  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant.  But 
one  morning  the  cook  came  into  the 
breakfast  room  and  communicated  the 
appalling  intelligence  that  she  had  seen 
an  actual  live  rat  in  the  cellar.  Then 
such  a  shout  of  horror  and  amazement 
arose.  "  A  rat!"  " In  the  cellar !"  "The 
(82) 


THE  GRAND  AFFAIR  OF  THE  RAT.  85 

villain  I"  "The  insolent  rascal !"  "  He 
must  be  caught !"  "  He  must  be  hung !" 
"  He  must  be  drowned  I"  "  The  like  was 
never  heard  of  before!"  My  aunt  was 
grieved.  The  children  were  highly  in- 
dignant. My  uncle  was  calm  and  deter- 
mined. So  a  wire  cage  was  brought  and 
baited  with  toasted  cheese  and  set  in  the 
cellar. 


THE  CATASTBOPHE. 

The  next  afternoon  Willie  had  a  little 
party.  Four  urchins  of  about  his  own  age 
came  to  assist  in  celebrating  his  birth 
day.  They  had  a  famous  time,  playing 
all  sorts  of  games  in  the  breakfast  room 
all  the  forenoon.  When  they  were  in  the 
height  of  their  glee,  they  heard  a  bustle 
in  the  kitchen  below;  and  on  Willie's 
going  down  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
there  stood  the  cook  with  the  wire  cage 
in  her  hand,  held  up  at  arm's  length,  and 
the  insolent  villain  of  a  rat  raging  and 
(86) 


THE  CATASTROPHE.  89 

darting  about  in  his  wire  prison,  biting 
the  bars  and  vainly  trying  to  get  out. 

Forthwith  he  was  taken  up  into  the 
breakfast  room  and  the  trap  set  on  the 
table  for  the  little  boys  to  have  a  good 
look  at  him  One  of  them  caught  the  cat 
and  held  her  up  to  the  table  to  enjoy  the 
sight.  It  was  proposed  to  let  him  loose 
in  the  room  and  see  pussy  catch  him.  But 
fortunately  Jenny  came  in  and  quietly 
ordered  the  cook  to  take  him  into  the 
yard  and  drown  him  by  putting  the  trap 
in  a  tub  of  water;  and  so  ended  the  tra- 
gedy of  that  "insolent  rat.77 


THE  CARD  HOUSES. 

After  the  grand  catastrophe  of  the  rat 
the  little  boys  went  to  work  building  card 
houses.  They  were  very  industrious  ar- 
chitects ;  and  built  a  great  many  famous 
edifices,  square  and  round  and  triangular 
and  octangular  and  high  and  low.  But 
the  houses  tumbled  down  as  fast  as  they 
were  built.  Jenny  came  in  while  the 
work  was  going  on  and  invited  them  into 
the  dining  room  where  they  joined  the 
family  at  dinner,  which  they  enjoyed  very 
much,  as  every  bodv  wTas  anxious  to  afford 
(90) 


THE  CARD  HOUSES. 


93 


them  pleasure  and  make  Willie's  birth 
day  pass  off  agreeably.  After  dinner  the 
little  boys  had  a  fine  time  looking  at  pic- 
ture books.  Then  Jenny  told  them  a 
great  many  pretty  stories  and  Sallie  and 
Willie  brought  out  their  whole  store  of 
toys.  Then  came  tea  in  the  breakfast 
room,  with  plenty  of  nice  cake ;  and  in 
half  an  hour  after,  all  the  little  boys  were 
on  their  way  home  having  enjoyed  them- 
selves very  much  in  celebrating  Willie's 
birth  day. 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  BOYS. 

In  the  village  was  a  Sunday  School, 
where  children  were  taught  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  religious  duty  by  the  young  gen- 
tleman and  ladies  who  belonged  to  the 
church.  Among  these  was  our  friend 
Jenny,  who  was  extremely  attentive  to 
her  duties  at  the  Sunday  school  and  not 
only  taught  the  little  boys  of  her  class 
their  catechism  and  their  scripture  lessons 
but  volunteered  to  teach  them  singing. 
The  little  fellows  were  delighted  with  this 
exercise ;  and  one  day  when  Jenny  was 
(94) 


THE  CHILDREN  SINGING. 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  BOYS. 


97 


walking  out  in  the  fields  she  came  sud- 
denly upon  the  little  boys  of  her  class 
practising  their  singing  lesson  with  all 
their  might  in  the  open  air.  The  little 
boys  were  rather  bashful ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  caught  sight  of  Jenny,  they  all 
jumped  up  and  ran  away,  before  she  could 
speak  to  them. 


WILLIE'S  VISIT. 

Willie  was  permitted  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Charlie  Carson,  one  of  the  little  boys  who 
took  a  part  in  the  grand  celebration  of 
his  birth  day.  At  the  farm,  the  little 
boys  had  amused  themselves  mostly  in 
the  house,  looking  at  picture  books  and 
playing  all  sorts  of  in-door  games.  Here 
it  was  different.  The  play  was  mostly  out 
of  doors  in  the  open  air.  In  the  first 
place  they  took  a  grand  ride  on  stick 
horses  on  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house. 
Then  they  played  at  leap  frog  and  tag, 
(98) 


WILLIE' S  VISIT. 


101 


and  a  dozen  other  games.  Thus  the  day 
passed  very  pleasantly ;  but  the  boys  all 
declared  that  it  was  not  quite  so  agreeable 
as  looking  over  Willie's  picture  books  at 
the  farm. 


JENNY'S  BEADING. 

Jenny  read  a  great  many  books  and 
took  delight  in  this  as  a  recreation.  But 
there  was  one  book  which  she  read  for 
her  own  moral  and  religious  improvement. 
This  was  the  Bible.  Before  she  retired 
to  her  bed  at  night,  when  all  alone  in  her 
chamber,  she  invariably  read  a  certain 
portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  with  prayer 
to  her  Heavenly  Father,  to  give  her  the 
daily  bread  of  religious  and  charitable 
feeling  and  to  keep  her  from  temptations 
to  sin.  The  same  exercise  she  was  enabled 
(102) 


JENNY  READING  THE  BIBLF 


jenny's  reading.  105 

by  early  rising  to  go  through  in  the 
morning  before  leaving  her  chamber.  This 
course  of  reading  and  her  earnest  desire 
to  put  in  practise  in  her  daily  life  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Holy  Word,  was  the  secret  of 
her  truthfulness,  benevolence,  and  uniform 
sweetness  of  temper.  No  other  reading 
is  so  certain  to  form  a  good  character  as 
that  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 


«gg^ 


THE  WINDY  WALK. 

One  day  Jenny  and  Willie  took  a  walk 
in  the  fields  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  a 
certain  pond  in  which  there  were  kept 
two  live  swans.  It  was  an  excessively 
windy  day  and  little  Willie  had  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  in  keeping  his  cap  upon 
his  head;  but  they  were  greatly  amused 
at  the  pranks  which  the  wind  was  playing 
The  waving  of  the  branches  of  the  trees, 
the  scattering  of  apples  and  peaches  on 
the  ground ;  the  occasional  showers  of 
dry  leaves  which  fell  upon  their  heads 
(106) 


THE  WINDY   WALK.  109 

and  whirled  along  before  them  in  the 
pathway,  all  afforded  great  amusement  to 
Willie  who  had  never  been  abroad  in  a 
windy  autumn  day  before.  With  all  this 
commotion,  however,  there  was  nothing 
to  interfere  with  their  comfort  as  the  day 
was  clear  and  mild,  without  any  signs  oi 
rain. 


THE  SWAN. 

At  last  the  walkers  came  to  the  pond, 
which  was  greatly  agitated  by  the  wind, 
and  showed  its  surface  all  ruffled  into 
waves,  which  formed  a  tolerable  imitation 
of  a  stormy  sea,  rolling  its  little  breakers 
on  the  shore  and  tossing  about  the  chips 
and  leaves  on  its  surface,  as  the  ocean 
does  ships  and  boats.  As  for  the  swans, 
they  were  no  where  to  be  seen.  They  were 
very  fond  of  swimming  about  on  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  water  when  it  was 
calm,  and  showing  their  elegant  forms, 

(110) 


THE  SWAN. 


THE  SWAN. 


113 


and  beautiful  arched  necks  to  the  visitors 
who  came  to  see  them.  But  a  gale  of 
wind  was  what  they  had  not  bargained 
for ;  and  so  they  had  left  the  water  and 
walked  off.  On  turning  to  go  home,  how- 
ever, they  encountered  one  of  the  swans 
walking  on  the  shore.  But  he  did  not 
appear  to  advantage ;  as  his  gait  and  mo- 
tions were  not  very  unlike  those  of  a  goose. 


8 


THE  BIRD'S  NEST. 

When  Jenny  and  Willie  had  got  nearly 
home  from  their  walk  and  were  already 
in  the  orchard,  they  met  Sally,  who  had 
just  picked  up  a  poor  robin's  nest  which 
the  wind  had  dislodged  from  one  of  the 
trees  and  thrown  upon  the  ground.  It 
was  empty ;  and  now  an  inquiry  arose  as 
to  what  had  become  of  the  young  robins. 
Jenny  thought  they  must  all  have  got 
fledged  and  flown  away.  But  Sallie  and 
Willie  determined  to  have  a  hunt  for 
them ;  and,  at  last,  sure  enough  three  little 
(114) 


THE  BIRD'S  NEST, 


THE  BIRD'S  NEST.  117 

birds  were  found  scattered  about  under 
the  tree,  and  put  into  the  nest  again. 
They  were  not  much  hurt  by  their  fall ; 
and  when  they  were  all  restored  to  the 
nest,  and  Willie  had  held  the  nest  in  his 
lap  and  had  a  good  long  look  at  them ; 
one  of  the  hired  men  was  called  who 
quickly  climbed  the  tree  and  put  the  nest 
in  its  place  again,  to  the  great  delight  of 
the  parent  birds. 


THE  HEED  BOY. 

I  have  sat  on  the  mountains  and  tended 
my  herds ; 

I  have  watched  with  attention  the  dear 
little  birds ; 

There  they  sang  to  each  other,  and  hopped 
on  the  spray, 

And  builded  their  nests  till  the  close  of 
the  day. 

In  the  garden  I  stood,  and  observed  that 
the  bees 

Made  their  cells  in  our  hives,  and  aban- 
doned the  trees ; 
(118) 


w 

w 

o 
fcri 


THE  HERD  BOY.  121 

They  hummed,  and  they  buzzed,  and  flew 

many  a  mile — 
Does  the  tune  they  are  humming  their 

labor  beguile  ? 
Can  they  hear  ? — or  are  insects  quite  deaf 

all  the  while  ? 
I  have  strolled  in  the  meadows  when  gar- 
nished by  spring, 
I  have  seen  painted  butterflies  float  on 

the  wing : 
They  flitted,  they  fluttered,  they  hasted 

away ; — 
They  have  wasted  no  time — done  their 

work  in  the  day — 
And  that  is  more  than  some  people  can 

say! 


THE  BROTHER'S  GRAVE. 

Ser  the  hillock  near  the  church, 
Garnished  b}7  a  sister's  hand, 

This  you'll  find  with  little  search, 
For  the  garlands  on  it  stand. 

There  sank  her  brother  in  the  tomb, 
His  body  there  in  dust  must  lie ; 

But  angels  bore  his  spirit  home, 
To  gain  a  mansion  in  the  sky. 

And  Christ  is  still  the  same,  to  save 
The  child  who  seeks  and  trusts  his  grace ; 

He'll  raise  his  body  from  the  grave, 
And  infant  lips  shall  sing  His  praise. 

(122) 


the  brother's  grave. 


THE  FROG  AND  THE  MOUSE. 


THE  FROG  AND  THE  MOUSE. 

"  Frog,"  said  the  Mouse,  "  are  you  unwell, 

Tou  look  a  bloated  figure  ?" 
"No,"  said  the  Frog,  "  the  truth  to  tell, 

Pd  fain  be  somewhat  bigger. 

"  There  stands  an  ox,  he's  larger  still, 
And  roars  with  staring  eyes ; 

I'd  roar  as  loud,  say  what  you  will, 
Were  I  but  blown  his  size." 

"Peace!"  said  the  Mouse,  "you  reptile 
thin; 
Do  you  think  that  wind  would  do  it  ? 
You'd  be  no  larger  than  your  skin, 
Were  Eolus  to  blow  it." 

(127) 


128 


THE  FROG  AND  THE  MOUSE. 


The  Frog  he  swelled,  till  skin  gave  way ; 

He  burst  himself  at  last ! 
The  Mouse  he  scampered  off,  they  say, 

No  doubt  he  scampered  fast. 


/ 


. 


